Gone Country

Take a look at the recent photo of glam supergroup Bon Jovi. All those good looks and modern machismo make for a great combination, especially when recording their next hit record. Too  bad that next album is all country. That's right. Bon Jovi, one of the biggest bands to emerge from the 1980s glam scene, has gone country.

Oh dear.

Jon and company leaked two country tracks to the Internet yesterday. It's become common practice for artists to test the waters by "leaking" a track or three on the world wide web.

Apparently, Bon Jovi recorded their album in (where else?) Nashville. The album may be released as early as April.

As you can imagine, some fans are devastated, others excited. To be fair, the line between country and rock music has become increasingly blurred, with country acts employing the same electric guitars that have so long been a staple of modern metal.

So, when Bon Jovi hits the road to support the new album, will they tap into covers of George Strait and Patsy Cline or will they go ahead and play the hits that made them famous like "Dead or Alive?"  Will performing "Bad Medicine" anger the country fans more akin to Rascal Flatts than Poison? Will the die hards wearing vintage concert t-shirts become violent when Ritchie Sambora trots out the dobro instead of the Stratocaster?

Let the debate begin.

Brother, You Were Always So Far Away

So, there's a rumor circulating on the Internet that the Nelson brothers are about to embark on a reunion tour. Matthew and Gunner Nelson are brothers, so were they ever separated?

Maybe the "reunion" means the original Nelson lineup, which included guitarists Steven McClintock and Cary Park, David Morgan on keyboards, and drummer Brian Burwell. There's a different Nelson line-up now, but you get the idea.

Nelson is best known for their number 1 single, "(Can't Live Without Your) Love and Affection." The single was on the 1990 release After the Rain. All of Nelson's singles are available on 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Nelson.

According to www.nelsonbrothers.com the boys are on tour right now. This month, they're crooning on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship. I don't know if this is cool or not. Glam readers, let me tell you that I've been on a cruise, and I've enjoyed the shows. I would say there wasn't a single performance, however, that was good enough to garner a number one single on the Billboard charts. Maybe my standards are too high.

Later this year, the Nelsons will stop in Iowa, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, and Oregon but don't expect a glam reunion. The Nelson's are now a country act. Whatever.

(Un) Skinny Bop

Can glam make you thin? I know that listening to glam while I'm on the treadmill makes the task go quicker, help me focus, and puts me in a good mood.

I never understood people who listen to country, classical or pop music while trying to lift weights or train for a marathon. To me, if I’ve got 45 minutes in front of me at 7 in the morning, it makes more sense to listen to Metallica’s “Fuel” or “Shout at the Devil” by the Crue.

www.webmd.com recently commissioned a study about the correlation of music and exercising. Fitness experts simply reinforced what most of us already know: music makes the workout go faster, makes us work harder, and makes us have fun.

A 2005 study tracked participants who listened to music while exercising, and those who did not. Not a shocker, the people who rocked while on the elliptical machine dropped more pounds. I also bet they were in a better mood after listening to an hour of Poison.  

The final ruling found that music didn't actually help weight loss, rather, it keeps people motivated to continually exercise. This, in turn, equals scale success.

Here are some glam tunes I use every day at the gym:

1) "Dr. Feelgood" – Motley Crue (perhaps one of the best songs ever recorded for exercise).
2) "Wild Side" – Motley Crue
3) "Fuel" – Metallica
4) "Unskinny Bop" – Poison
5) "Up All Night" – Slaughter
6) "Tunder Kiss ’65" – White Zombie
7) "Still of the Night" – Whitesnake
8) "Noone’s Gonna Do It For You" – Vains of Jenna
9) "Round and Round" – RATT
10) "Pour Some Sugar on Me "– Def Leppard
11) "Black and Blue" – Van Halen
12) "Runnin’ with the Devil" – Van Halen

Of course there are more, but those were just off the top of my head.

In honor of our list, "Runnin' with the Devil" will be our song obsession of the week. Originally recorded for the 1978 release Van Halen, the album single-handedly changed modern metal music. Van Halen helped create glam while making metal accessible to the masses. Last weekend, Eddie Van Halen joined forces with Fender to launch a new line of EVH guitars. Proof positive that after 30 years in the business, a cancer scare, failed marriage and continual band feuding, old Eddie still knows how to rock.

New Tattoo

I've been on the fence about Crashdiet for awhile now. I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into a band that had no lead singer. You see, frontman Dave Lepard died a year ago. This past weekend, the remaining members of Crashdiet announced his replacement: H Olliver Twisted.

If you're unfamiliar, Crashdiet is a Swedish glam rock sensation (I need to move to Sweden)!

Their album, Rest in Sleaze has garnered great reviews and helped the band gain a pretty good fan base. H. Olliver Twisted will split his time between Crashdiet and his other band, Reckless Love.  If you'd like to hear some audio samples, head over to www.crashdiet.org.

Crashdiet is making waves in the glam movement.  They are the only sleaze rock band in over a decade to land a major label deal, signing with Universal.  I say, rock on!

 

Say You, Say Me

What is it about cover albums?

Last year, Def Leppard released Yeah! a widely popular cover album, featuring 1970s glam hits. The most popular single off the 2006 release is "20^th Century Boy," originally recorded by T. Rex.  Most critics praised the release just like die-hard DL fans.

This reaction to a cover album is pretty rare. On their “official” MySpace page, Poison recently announced plans to record a cover album and asked fans to submit song suggestions. Some of the ideas are halfway decent, others are completely inane. Take, for instance, “Iron Man” by Black Sabbath and “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Are you kidding me?

It gets worse. One nut job thinks Bret Michaels and company should cover Bon Jovi and Motley Crue. Isn’t that missing the whole point? That’s still a better suggestion than Poison singing Ozzy Osbourne’s hit “Mama, I’m Coming Home.”

Apparently, the album is going to drop in late spring. Considering how long it typically takes to produce a quality album, that doesn’t give C.C. DeVille much time to learn the tablature to “Free Bird.”

Jesus.

Originally, glam bands recorded a cover song so record executives could get a good indication of a bands respective skill level and marketability. Take, for instance, Motley Crue’s cover of the Brownsville Station classic “Smokin’ in the Boys Room,” or even David Lee Roth’s “Just a Gigolo/I Ain’t Got Nobody.” Both songs were released as singles and featured big budget videos that had a ton of rotation on MTV. Now, it seems record labels are regaling big name acts like Poison to b-level products just to make a quick buck. Maybe I’m missing something, but I thought the whole point of becoming a famous band was to have the ability to sing and write original songs. Apparently not.

Have no fear. When the new Poison album drops, your glam mistress will be first in line ready with cash and a witty pen to review the disc. I can only hope Capitol is providing Poison with a healthy advance and promise of a big marketing campaign.

For the Love of Money

If you're so inclined, visit my new store at http://www.cafepress.com/bringbackglam
Wear a shirt to a show and spread the movement. Together, we can bring back glam!

Been So Afraid of Fame?

There's no point in mincing words. I love American Idol. In fact, I'm an American Idol addict. I watch every show, and TiVo is set to record every bad note and mean comment. During last week's premiere episodes, I couldn't help but wonder why so many contestants (upwards of 1 million people auditioned for this season) avoided glam? After all, the 1980s were the heyday of the so-called "power ballad!"  Why is it that these seemingly normal Americans would rather audition for THE talent competition of a lifetime to such stellar tunes as "Don't Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls or "Kiss" by Prince. Not that there's anything wrong with either song, except that they are incredibly difficult to sing, let alone perform a cappella. I simply can't believe that the teens, many of which are tone deaf, would rather place all their eggs in the basket of modern pop instead of trying to stay on key with "Home Sweet Home" or "Every Rose Has Its Thorn."

Perhaps I'm crazy, but during the two-night premiere special, I only counted one song that is quasi-glam: Aerosmith's "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing." This song comes close, but it's not really glam and, again, incredibly hard to sing. At any rate, the person who attempted the number 1 single didn't make it through to Hollywood and was basically humiliated by the judges.

I'm not saying that glam should intersect with pop hell, but I do think a little exposure on the highest rated television show in America would do a lot to bring back glam.